Twilight: Twilight Series, Book 1

When 17-year-old Isabella Swan moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father she expects that her new life will be as dull as the town itself. In spite of her awkward manner and low expectations, she finds that her new classmates are drawn to this pale, dark-haired new girl in town. But not, it seems, the Cullen family. These five adopted brothers and sisters obviously prefer their own company and will make no exception for Bella.

The Chemist

In this gripping thriller, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life. She used to work for the US government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long.

Four: A Divergent Collection

Listeners first encountered Tobias Eaton as "Four" in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Listeners will find more of this charismatic character's backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When heard together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias Eaton's life.

The Hunger Games: Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 1

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning? In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by 12 outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

The Girl Who Dared to Think: The Girl Who Dared to Think, Book 1

How do you fight an enemy when they're inside your mind? A gargantuan glass-walled tower looms over a deadly wilderness. They say it's all that's left. The Tower's survival is humanity's survival, and each must serve it faithfully.... Twenty-year-old Liana Castell must be careful what she thinks. Her life is defined by the number on her wristband - a rating out of 10 awarded based on her usefulness and loyalty to the Tower, and monitored by a device in her skull. A device that reports forbidden thoughts.

Blood of the Infinity War: Afterlife Saga, Book 8

As Keira still finds Persian sands beneath her feet, she is yet to discover the true meaning of what it is to be The Chosen One to the King of Kings. For now that Arsaces has her, he simply plans on keeping her.... No matter what the cost. Even if that means fighting the prophecy and stealing her from the only world she has ever known. A world that is about to end.

Bloodlines, Book 1

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Bloodlines by Richelle Mead. Read by the actress Emily Shaffer. Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires. But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with vampire Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding.

The Gender Game

A toxic river divides 19-year-old Violet Bates' world by gender. Women rule the East. Men rule the West. Welcome to the lands of Matrus and Patrus. Ever since the disappearance of her beloved younger brother, Violet's life has been consumed by an anger she struggles to control. Already a prisoner to her own nation, now she has been sentenced to death for her crimes. But one decision could save her life. To enter the kingdom of Patrus, where men rule and women submit.

Beautiful Creatures

Is falling in love the beginning...or the end? In Ethan Wate’s hometown there lies the darkest of secrets. There is a girl. Slowly, she pulled the hood from her head. Green eyes, black hair. Lena Duchannes. There is a curse. On the 16th Moon, the 16th Year, the Book will take what it’s been promised. And no one can stop it. In the end, there is a grave. Lena and Ethan become bound together by a deep, powerful love. But Lena is cursed and on her 16th birthday, her fate will be decided. Ethan never even saw it coming.

Elinor Dashwood says:"An identity crisis of a book, with audio-problems"

The Land: Founding: A LitRPG Saga: Chaos Seeds, Book 1

Tricked into a world of banished gods, demons, goblins, sprites and magic, Richter must learn to meet the perils of The Land and begin to forge his own kingdom. Actions have consequences across The Land, with powerful creatures and factions now hell-bent on Richter's destruction. Can Richter forge allegiances to survive this harsh and unforgiving world or will he fall to the dark denizens of this ancient and unforgiving realm? A tale to shake "The Land" itself, measuring 10/10 on the Richter scale, how will Richter's choices shape the future of The Land and all who reside in it? Can he grow his power to meet the deadliest of beings of the land? When choices are often a shade of grey, how will Richter ensure he does not become what he seeks to destroy?

Covenant College: The Complete Series

Zoe Lake is heading off to college - and she's excited. It's not a regular college, though. It's a magical college full of vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches, sphinxes - and pretty much everything else you can imagine. Despite the monsters, it's often human nature that threatens her life most.

Fallen: Fallen 1

What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours? 17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross, only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart. Get ready to fall....

City of Bones: Mortal Instruments, Book 1

Clary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and werewolves in Manhattan. Irresistably drawn towards a group of sexy demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City - and the dangers of forbidden love.

The 5th Wave

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: Trust no one. Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave. On a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, until Cassie meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be her only hope for rescuing her brother and even saving herself. Now she must choose....

Lady Midnight: A Shadowhunter Novel: The Dark Artifices, Book 1

It's been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses. Together with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn't lead her in treacherous directions....

The Kill Order

When sun flares hit the Earth, intense heat, toxic radiation and flooding followed, wiping out much of the human race. Those who survived live in basic communities in the mountains, hunting for food. For Mark and his friends, surviving is difficult, and then an enemy arrives, infecting people with a highly contagious virus. Thousands die, and the virus is spreading. Worse, it's mutating, and people are going crazy. It's up to Mark and his friends to find the enemy - and a cure - before the Flare infects them all.

Daughter of Dragons

Offered as the annual sacrifice, Lathwi is left to feed and pacify the local dragon, but Taziem has different ideas. Taziem takes Lathwi to her cave and raises her with her dragon-babies, in hopes of getting the one thing more important to a dragon than food - knowledge. While Taziem learns more about humans, Lathwi learns and grows as a dragon, until one day a magical conflict in the human realm forces Lathwi back into the world that forsook her.

Star Child: Places of Power

Powers are determined by geographic birth locations, and only the rich and powerful are permitted access to prized sites. SC is the first person born in space. The punishment for unauthorized births is death. Out of fear, SC keeps his strange abilities as his darkest secret. But when his mother is kidnapped by an unknown organization, SC has no choice but to act.

Publisher's Summary

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too-vivid memories.

But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

I had never come accross Stephanie Meyer before, and I was very pleasantly surprised. This is science-fiction at its best. At a basic level this is a survival thriller. But Meyer uses the premise that human beings are possessed by aliens to skillfully explore xenophobia, prejudice, loyalty, betrayal, love, cruelty, kindness, altruism, selfishness, and the meaning of humanity.
The book is written from the viewpoint of an alien possessor, and the action, physical and psychological, moves at a good clip, which made it compulsive listening for me.
The narrator deserves special praise too, she acts out the parts with care and skill, getting the voice characterisations and the inflexions just right.
Whether you want a provocative and thought-provoking story or just a gripping yarn, I can thoroughly recommend this audiobook.

This book by Stephenie Meyer, author of the aclaimed Twilight Saga, is a deeply moving story about what it means to be human. Aliens have conquered Earth and taken over the minds of humans. Most humans have submitted, but there are some who resist. When Wanderer is driven by her resistant human host to seek sanctuary among the people her host once knew, she faces rejection, hatred and violence, but also discovers the meaning of true love and friendship. This is a science fiction tale which is not my usual fair, but I thought it was very well written and I found the characters both complex and engaging.

Absolutely brilliant book, almost unrecognizable to the style of the twilight series. This book is worlds above them. However the voice of the narrator draws attention away from the story at points because of unnecessarily exaggerated inflections which are not easy to listen to.

That, however, doesn't stop The Host being an excellent, thought provoking listen! Picking up from the credits of most bodysnatcher movies, you're transported into the body of Melanie and the mind of Wanderer. Melanie and her 'Soul' form a bizarre union, searching for Melanie's lost love. The Host casts an inetersting new light on the 'love triangle' whilst posing some interesting philosphical questions about whether the person is contained in the body, conscious, or conscience.
Kate Reading has an upward vocal inflection, which I found quite irritating to start with, but once she started expanding the character range it became less noticable.

If you started with Twilight, I suspect you will buy this regardless, but if you have seen your children become obsessed and want to know what all the fuss is about, I would start here.

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel 'The Host' and thought that the audio-book would be a bit of fun, background stuff yadda yadda and instead I had to carefully portion my time to listen to it - the emotions run higher when you can hear the words spoken and as so much of the story is about a persons heart and soul, and the fate of the dwindling human race, the emotional content tends to run high and it was wonderful, I'm still mourning having finished it - my first audio-book hangover if you will.

What did you like best about this story?

Unlike Twilight (which I confess I do enjoy as a guilty pleasure) this story sticks to the pre-established trope that Body-snatchers etc have introduced us to over the years - a symbiotic race steals our bodies and our planet etc - but that's where the likeness ends.

Wanderer, our main character is one of a race who explore the galaxy and bond with creatures to learn and absorb and improve their cultures, having taken Earth before we can destroy it and ourselves to boot.

It's got romantic elements, it's even rife with Meyer's predilection for love triangles but the main love story is of Wanda/Wanderer and humanity; for all our brutish ways and hot blooded emotions nothing converts her like the love between humans and particularly her Host's lingering love for her little brother, a love so strong it converts Wanda from gentle Soul, to quietly stubborn heroine.

The film didn't do the book justice sadly (too much content for a two hour film methinks) but the audio book was so good I may leave my paperback to gather dust in favour of a re-listen versus a reread - it's a heartwarming sci-fi tale of love for each other and our planet both and I cannot recommend it enough :)

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

I particularly enjoyed the way Kate Reading intoned Wanderer's words with the sense of being new to the language, hesitations and stresses on things that were glossed straight over in her 'Mel' voice, not to mention her wide range of differing tones and accents made for a believable cast with both male and female characters.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Having read the book before I didn't think anything was likely to surprise or move me but Kate Reading's depiction of Walter made me cry my face off, as did Wanda's final deal with Doc - it was a wonderful story overall but to be moved by something you already know will happen is particularly amazing.

Any additional comments?

I loved this audio book, I loved the book and I don't think either get the recognition they deserve, I sincerely hope more people will give either version a try because two empowered heroine's in one body fighting for the people and the planet they love beats Twilight any day.

Where does The Host rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of my favourite listens. I have listened to it half a dozen times.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character(s) Wanda and Melanie Stryder, Meyer has definitely captured the nuances of each character fantastically.These two characters, although they share the same body, are entirely their own person.Wanda is the soul that has been drafted into Melanie's body; she is mild mannered, timid and painfully kind to everyone.Melanie is smart, strong willed and has spent years on the run, she has a no-nonsense and outspoken attitude.Wanda/Melanie are very strong characters in their own right.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Moments of laughing out loud, moments of gripping emotion and connections with characters.I fell in love with most of the characters in the caves, Jeb is delightfully mad, Jamie is heart achingly sweet, Jared is fiery and enigmatic and Ian is loyal and strong.

Any additional comments?

Narration was outstanding, Kate Reading really did all of the characters' voices incredibly well. Wanda and Melanie are given different voices that do justice to their temperament.A great story about, humanity, survival and everything that is good and bad about being human.

I felt the narrator did an outstanding job with all the characters voices. The unfamiliar inflections and tones that the narrator uses with Wanderers voice in the first part of the book, I think was intended to illustrate the fact that Wanderer was alien and not used to the language..she changes this as the book progresses. Anyway, I did not find the narrators voice irritating at all..I very much enjoyed this book and would recommend it as an easy, enjoyable and entertaining listen.

This was an engrossing and interesting listen. It starts slowly but once it gets going (and it does get going) it doesn't stop. I listen at the gym, and one day even found I'd done 4 minutes over my time on the treadmill I was so caught up in things!
I sort of guessed how the end might be resolved, and womanfully avoided picking copies of the book up in my library or local Smiths just to see if I was right (I was, in a way).
What was nice was that there was no contrived badness to interrupt what was essentially a book about learning who, and what you are, and how that affects those you love.
The only problem now is, after over 20 hours of listening I'm going to really struggle to get into another audio-book.
This is beautifully read with lovely characterisation - she copes with the main characters brilliantly, doing crotchety old men, teen boys, women and men, staying in character throughout. Well worth the pennies and well worth listening to - go buy!

After reading a few reviews about this audible I decided to give it ago as I loved this book the first time I read it. I agree that at first her voice seems almost a bit annoying but you really learn to love it. Her male voices impressed me the most. There are a lot of different male characters and each of them had a distinguishable difference. Would happily listen again.

Okay... it didn't surprise me as in twists and turns - I could see most of it coming - but by how much I liked this. I'm not usually a fan of slow narrated stuff (bought it in a post-Twilight moment of insanity), but this book still sucked me right on in.
I especially liked the fact that the author didn't seize every opportunity to make a disastrous cliff hanger of every situation. Everything just keeps working out, which is actually nice. The interest comes from the commentary on human nature - the story isn't particularly deep and meaningful, but it does make you think a little.
Look forward to the sequel.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

K. Pearson

NSW Australia

11/05/09

Overall

"The Host"

I loved this book. After having the cover of The Host starring at me all the while I was reading the Twilight Series, I had to read it. I love Wanderer. The rollercoaster of emotions that was her plight with the humans and the choices she makes. A great read/listen.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sam

Clifton Hill, Australia

21/07/08

Overall

"Needs editing - get the abridged version"

Sometime intricate detail can be captivating and create a technicolor vision. This is not one of those times. Long winded, frankly boring descriptions with minimal actual plot progression creates such relief when something actually occurs in the story that it can be mistaken for enjoyment. I have listened to over 100 files from Audible and this is one of the 5 most tedious and boring... Sorry, but the more I heard the more I wish I had waited to read reviews (it was a new release when I purchased it).

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Maniclavender

New Zealand

26/11/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"good story and great narrator"

What made the experience of listening to The Host the most enjoyable?

The Narrator didn't just read, she performed

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

the Concept is really interesting

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

the different voices she puts on

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

when the people started to accept the main character

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

maria

Handen, Sweden

19/08/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"Divine!"

Would you listen to The Host again? Why?

The first time I started listening I got tired after about an hour, did not really understand what was happening and I had expecte something else ... Then I gave it another chance, which I absolutely do not regret! The story is superb, you laugh and cry. is among the best I've ever heard and read. listen right now on the book for the second time!

What other book might you compare The Host to and why?

Can't think of someone..

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

everything!!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When they accepted the wanderer and when they took away the soul of the young woman, but saved it, if for the original soul wasen't still in the body, and when Wanda helped to get antibiotics....and EVERYTING!!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Karen

Oxford, New Zealand

08/01/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"Far better than Twilight!"

I originally read The Host after dipping into Twilight a few years back, before the films were released. The plot, in my opinion, is far superior and believable and I have read it again several times while Twilight grows dusty on my book shelves. I was looking for an audio book that I didn't have to concentrate on (for listening to when doing a task that demanded greater concentration at times) and so picked 'The Host' as I was very familiar with the story. Initially, I was very disappointed in Kate Reading's performance as Wanderer. I found, like another reviewer noted, she was stilted. However, it was only a few chapters in that I realised that this was actually necessary given the nature of Wanderer and by mid-way through the book I was grateful for Kate Reading's clear distinction between characters. Don't be put off in those first few chapters! Keep at it, and you will see what I mean.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Donna

TownsvilleAustralia

07/06/08

Overall

"Enjoyable albeit Soap Operatic at Times"

I enjoyed this audio book, this being the first I have listened to. I loved the Twilight series, but with HOST was a bit disappointed - the reactions of the characters at times seems a little unrealistic and over-exaggerated. They somehow seemd two dimensional at times, not believable. There were places I found a little monotonous however the storyline kept me interested and at times I found myself keen to keep listening, or thinking about the characters... Worth it for good escapism - I would certainly "read" any sequels to this!

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Gemma

Gawler South, SA, Australia

22/02/09

Overall

"Sorry I bought this"

When I read this book, I was so excited to then buy this on audio. What a disappointment. It was narrated very badly, short and stilted. I'm so annoyed that I paid money for this, it could have been done so well. I wish I'd had a listen to the sample before, but I was too excited.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

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